Apparatus for cleaning and filling engine cooling systems



H- J. FALK June 8, 1965 APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND FILLING ENGINE COOLING SYSTEMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I I Filed 001;. 9, 1963 INVENTOR. HENRY J. FALK BY fl: 4. v K

AT TORNE I June 8, 1965 H. J. FALK 3,188,005

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND FILLING ENGINE COOLING SYSTEMS Filed Oct. 9, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. HENRY J. FALK A T TORNEY United States Patent 3,188,006 APPARATUS FOR CLEANILNG AND FELING ENGINE COOLING SYSTEMS 1 Henry J. Falls, Kenmore, N.Y., assignor to Union Carbide Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed Get. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 314,959

2 Claims. (Cl. 2378) The present invention relates to the cleaning and refilling of cooling systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for both flushing an automotive engine cooling system and for refilling the system with water and coolant.

Changing the coolant in an automobile engine cooling system has become a difiicult andtime-consuming task. Most car manufacturers have substituted drain plugs for drain cocks in the engine block and have located these in such inaccesible places that removal is diflicult and in many cases must be done from underneath the car. The only relatively accessible drain cock still provided is the one at the bottom of the radiator. Draining at this one point, however,does not empty the entire cooling systern and usually between 40 and 70 percent of the old coolant remainsin the engine block, heater, hoses and other parts of the system. This amount of old coolant is undesirable and sometimes intolerable because the old coolant in the system may be deteriorated anti-freeze, acidic cooling system cleaner, rusty water, etc., which can seriously affect the performance of the subsequently installed anti-freeze or coolant. Also, problems such as corrosion, foaming, inhibitor precipitation, etc., may result from such contamination. Furthermore, the incomplete draining may not leave enough space in the system to allow installation of-a sufficient amount of anti-freeze to obtain the desired freezing protection.

Possibly the most eflfective method of changing coolants available to date has been to drain the system completely by removing block drain plugs and opening the radiator drain; then removing the thermostat and reverse flush ing the system by feeding flush-water through the upper radiator hose and allowing it to escape through the radiator filler neck. After the flush-Water is drained, the radiator drain cock is closed, block drain plugs and thermostat reinstalled, and the engine is ready to accept the fresh fill of coolant. Although this represents an effective way to change coolants in an engine, it is rarely done because of the time and eifort required.

It is also possible to reverse flush an engine as described above without removing the block drain plugs. After completion of the flushing operation, however, it is necessary to purge some of the flush-water from the block out the radiator drain. This procedure also is seldom used because it requires the removal of the thermostat which is'a diflicult and time-consuming task.

Another flushing method commonly used is to drain the coolant at the radiator drain cock only; then place awater hose in the filler neck of the radiator and feed flush-water into the top of the radiator while draining it out at the bottom of the radiator with the engine running at idle. The intent here is to displace the coolant in the block with flush-water by circulation provided by the water pump.

Unfortunately, under no-load, idling conditions, the

heat from the engine is so low that the thermostat is essentially closed. This makes the interchange of flushwater from the radiator with the coolant in the block very slow. In tests conducted on four dilferent type automobiles, it was found that after five minutes of flushing in this manner, 20 to 50 percent of the original coolant still remained in the system.

Because of the cost oflabor and the amount of time required to effectively drain and flush a cooling system, most coolant changes have deteriorated to the point where the coolant is simply drained at the radiator and fresh coolant or anti-freeze installed, with no attempt to flush the system. If'insufiicient old coolant is drained by this technique, the engine is started and run for a short period of time to force additional old coolant from the block into the radiator and out the radiator drain, either by action of the pump or by formation of vapor pockets in the engine block. Obviously this technique is not very effective and quite often considerable contamination of the subsequently installed new coolant occurs.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is capable of quickly and easily removing all of the oldcoolant in an automotive cooling system and refilling the system with new coolant.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for removing old coolant from an automotive cooling system and for refilling the system with new coolant which does not require the opening or removal of the cooling system thermostat, drain plugs, or drain cocks.

Other objects will be apparent from the following de scription and claims taken in conjunction with the drawing in which- FIGURE 1 shows a somewhat schematic view of a conventional automotive cooling system having the apparatus of the present invention connected thereto,

FIGURE 2 shows a more detailed elevation view of the apparatus of the present invention detached from the automotive cooling system,

FIGURE 3 shows a sectional I elevation View of the water and coolant injection apparatus of the prevent invention and FIGURE 4-shows a T-connection which is effectively used in the practice of the present'invention.

The present invention involves the displacement of the old coolant in the cooling system and its removal through the radiator filler-neckusing pressurized flush water, and the subsequent displacement of part of the flush-water with new coolant. new coolant are introduced into the cooling system through the heater-supply hose of the cooling system and at "no time is the cooling system emptied of liquid, thus the formation of air pockets in the system is avoided;

Also, the present invention is practiced. with the ther I mostat of the cooling system in the closed position and the opening of drain cocks or drain plugs is not required. Consequently there is no need to run the engine during the practice of the presentinvention. Further, the entire operation of flushing and refilling can be accomplished in from three to five minutes as compared to the thirty minutes or more required by previously known techniques.

The present invention will be more completely understood by reference to the drawing which shows in FIGURE 1 a conventional automotive engine cooling system comprising an engine block 1, a radiator 3 having a filler neck 5, anupper radiator hose '7 connected between the radiator and engine block and a thermostat 9 which is in the closed position as shown.

Heater-supply hose 11 connects heater 13 to the engine block and to water pump 15. As shown in the drawing, a T-connection 17 is installed in the heatersupply hose and is connected at itsinlet to a housing or gun 19. p g

In the operation of the present invention, the radiator is opened at the filler neck 5 and an overflow deflector Both the flush-water and cap 21 is installed as shown. Pressurized water is then introduced from pressurized water-supply 23 through conduit 25 and housing 19 into heater-supply hose 11.

As shown more particularly in FIGURE 3, a quick acting valve 27 is provided in housing 19 by which the flow of pressurized water through passage 29 into T- connection 17 can be promptly started and stopped.

The pressurized flush-water, which can be the citywater supply (approximately 70 p.s.i.) causes displacement of the old coolant in the systern by taking advantage of the normal distribution patterns in the engine which are illustrated in FIGURE 1. As shown in FIGURE 1, the pressurized flush-water upon entering heater-supply hose 11 through T-connection 17, splits 'into two paths. Part of the flush-water flows into the cylinder head, through the distribution holes 29 in head gasket 31, to the water pump 15, then through the lower radiator hose 33, up through the radiator 3 and finally out of the cooling system through radiator filler-neck 5. The other portion of the pressurized flushwater flows from T-section 17 through heater 13 then to water pump where it rejoins the other portion of flushwater and finally eXits the radiator filler-neck 5. The only area that is not effectivelypressure-flushed is the upper radiator hose. However even this can be purged of the old coolant by squeezing the hose a number of times by hand during the latter portion of the flushing operation so as to exchange the old coolant in the hose with fresh flush-water flowing through the top tank. Experience has shown that at normal city water pressures (approximately 70 p.s.i.) the coolingsystem fill is changed 3 to 4 times in one minute. This is sufiicient to provide a clean system completely free from contamination with the previous coolant.

As the pressurized flush-water is displacing the old coolant in the engine cooling system, the desired amount of new coolant, i.e. antifreeze or summer rust inhibitor, is introduced into tank 35 which is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. As shown in the drawing, tank 35 is provided with a can-piercing funnel 37 which facillitates introduction of coolant.

Tank 35 is also provided with a float valve 39 which permits the flow of liquid from the bottom of the tank but which prevents air from passing from the tank to the cooling system when the liquid coolant has been exhausted. 1

Quick acting valve 41 and a 3-way valve 43 are further provided for tank 35 to enable pressurizing of the coolant by means of compressed air supply 45. In practice, tank 35 is pressurized at from 5 to 50 p.s.i. after beingprovided with the desired amount of coolant.

In the operation of the present invention, after the cooling system has been flushed and the old coolant replaced With clean water as hereinbefore described, valve 27 is closed to terminate the'introduction of pressurized water and normally closed coolant valve 47, shown in FIGURE 3, is opened. This permits the introduction of pressurized coolant into the engine cooling system by way of coolant passage 49 and T-section 17.

The thus introduced presurized coolant displaces water in the system which exits radiator filler neck 5 in the same manner as did the old coolant under the effect of flush-water. This part of the operation takes about -25 seconds at the end of which time the radiator cap can be replaced and gun l9 removed and the cooling system is in a completely clean and refilled condition. A sealing cap 49 is provided, as shown in FIGURE 4 to prevent leakage of coolant from the heater-supply hose after refilling the cooling system. 7

Referring further'to the introduction of pressurized coolant from tank 35, it is to be noted that the float valve 39 automatically seals off the tank when the liquid level drops to the bottom, thus preventing the entry of air into the cooling system.

' ,As an example of a commercial practice of the present,

i invention, the first time an automobile is serviced by this technique, two pinch clamps are placed approximately four inchesapart at an accessible portion of the heater supply hose. The hose is then cut and a T-section as shown in FIGURE 4 is inserted in line with the heater-supply hose and locked in place with springtype hose clamps. The T-section can also be conveniently provided with a check valve (not shown) so that the flushing and filling apparatus can be installed and removed without loss of liquid. The aforedescribed procedure can be accomplished in about one minute.

In practicing the present invention, at least 12 diiferent automobiles representing all three of the major car manufacturers have been serviced in the aforedescribed manner. From these tests it has been found that the flushing was completely efiective and that the usual amounts of coolant could be injected into the cooling systems with little or no loss of coolant. glycol concentration have shown losses less than 1 percent and in the case of 50 percent glycol concentration, losses were less than 3 percent.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that the present invention constitutes a substantial benefit in the field of cleaning and refilling cooling systems.

Particular benefits of the present invention, as previously recited are (1) the ease and speed of installation and operation, (2) the fact that the cooling system thermostat and drain plugs need not be open, and (3) the fact that air is excluded from the cooling system thus avoiding gas pockets. 1

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for use in flushing old coolant and introducing new coolant into an engine cooling system in combination with an engine cooling system which includes an engine block, a heater, a heater-supply hose connected between the engine block and heater, aradiator, a radiator-filler neck, an upper radiator hose connected between the radiator and engine block, a closed thermostat valve at the connection between the upper radiator hose and engine block and a lower radiator hose connected between the radiator and engine block, said apparatus comprising a T-connectionhaving its opposed outlets connected in line with the heater-supply hose of the automobile cooling system at a position between the engine block and heater; a housing means in liquid-tight engagement with the inlet 'to said T-connection and including a water passage and 1 said water passage into said heater-supply hose by way of moved from the engine cooling system and when the flow said T-connection to thereby displace and remove the old. coolant from the engine cooling system by way of said lower radiator hose, radiator and radiator-filler neck, and

normally closed second valve means in said housing means adjustable to be actuated when old coolanthas been resaid T-connection; means to supply water under pressure to said water passage and means to supply coolant under pressure to said coolant passage.

2. An apparatus for use in flushing old coolant and introducing new coolant into an engine cooling system in combination with an engine cooling system which includes an engine block, a heater, a heater-supply hose connected between the engine block and heater, a radiator, a radiator-filler neck, an upper radiator hose connected between the radiator and engine block, a closed thermostat valve at the connection between the upper radiator hose and engine block and a lower radiator hose connected between the radiator and engine block, said apparatus comprising a T-connection having its opposed outlets connected in line with the heater-supply hose of the auto- Servicing tests aimed at 40 percent.

mobile cooling system at a position between the engine block and heater; a housing means in liquid-tight engagement with the inlet to said T-connection and including a water passage and a coolant passage, said passages being separated at their inlet ends and having a common outlet in communication with the inlet of said T-connection; first valve means in said housing means for starting and discontinuing the flow of water through said water passage into said heater-supply ho-se by way of said T- connection to thereby displace and remove the old coolant from the engine cooling system by way of said lower radiator hose, radiator and radiator-filler neck, and normally closed second valve means in said housing means adjustable to be actuated when old coolant has been removed from the engine cooling system and when the flow of water into the engine cooling system has been discontinned to thereby provide a flow of coolant through said coolant passage into said heater-supply hose by way of said T-connection; a vessel adapted to be pressurized and adapted to contain coolant, said vessel being connected with said pressurized coolant passage in said housing means and said vessel having valve means adapted to automatically seal itself from said housing when coolant is exhausted; means for supplying pressurized gas to said vessel; and means for supplying pressurized water to said pressurized water passage in said housing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,834,141 12/31 Butterfield 23712.3 1,969,295 8/34 Davis 134-166 2,169,620 8/39 Spayd 134 9s 3,092,514 6/63 Tomberlin 134-166 3,094,131 6/63 Williams 13498 3,132,656 5/64 Rankin 13498 EDWARD J. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR USE IN FLUSHING OLD COOLANT AND INTRODUCING NEW COOLANT INTO AN ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM IN COMBINATION WITH AN ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM WHICH INCLUDES AN ENGINE BLOCK, A HEATER, A HEATER-SUPPLY HOSE CONNECTED BETWEEN THE ENGINE BLOCK AND HEATER, A RADIATOR, A RADIATOR-FILLER NECK, AN UPPER RADIATOR HOSE CONNECTED BETWEEN THE RADIATOR AND ENGINE BLOCK, A CLOSED THERMOSTAT VALVE AT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE UPPER RADIATOR HOSE AND ENGINE BLOCK AND A LOWER RADIATOR HOSE CONNECTED BETWEEN THE RADIATOR AND ENGINE BLOCK, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A T-CONNECTION HAVING ITS OPPOSED OUTLETS CONNECTED IN LINE WITH THE HEAT-SUPPLY HOSE OF THE AUTOMOBILE COOLING SYSTEM AT A POSITION BETWEEN THE ENGINE BLOCK AND HEATER; A HOUSING MEANS IN LIQUID-TIGHT ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INLET TO SAID T-CONNECTION AND INCLUDING A WATER PASSAGE AND A COOLANT PASSAGE, SAID PASSAGES BEING SEPARATED AT THEIR INLET ENDS AND BEING IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE INLET OF SAID T-CONNECTION; FIRST VALVE MEANS IN SAID HOUSING MEANS FOR STARTING AND DISCONTINUING THE FLOW OF WATER THROUGH 